take away the congress' ability to do the same, and it fails to be a congress. becoming instead a mere play thing for a corrupt executive. do not believe for one moment that if we fail to hold steve bannon accountable that he will be the exception. he will become the rule. not a rule of law. but the misrule of men. either we are all equal before the law or none of us is. this is the essence of our democracy. and as lincoln said, whatever differs from this, to the extent of the difference, is no democracy. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from wyoming. ms. cheney: could i inquire how much time is remaining? the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from wyoming has 5 1/2 minutes. the gentleman from mississippi has two minutes. and the gentleman from indiana has no time remaining. ms. cheney: i'm prepared to close then, madam speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized. ms. cheney: thank you very much. madam speaker, just outside this chamber, over the north door in stat war r wary hall -- statuary hall, the old house chamber,

congress must act. thank you for the opportunity to testify. -- >> we work every day to help improve the transparency, security, accessibility, and accountability of elections in every state so every american has confidence in the outcome of every election, regardless of party, race, and if this chosen candidate lost or one. -- won or lost. regardless of color or political party, this is a great accomplishment worthy of celebrating while always looking to improve. instead, many seem to place propaganda in place of truth. some suggest they want to suppress the votes of their fellow americans. this is not new. it has been a long-term strategy. in 2004 in colorado, the dnc manual suggested launching a preemptive strike by encouraging minority leadership to denounce voter suppression, issue press release, when no signs of intimidation techniques have emerged yet. i wonder if these minority leaders being used in this way were told they were being used. in 2010, martha coakley was caught red-handed in her los

there are still questions that only congress can answer. congress still has a role to play. but the select committee has completely abandoned tha role. why else does the select committee want to hear from mr. bannon? because on january 5, mr. that, quote, all hell was going to break loose tomorrow. so according to the select committee, no person could have might occur that day. according to the committee that mr. bannon warned of violence on the fifth is proof that, quote, mr. bannon had foreknowledge of the attack on the sixth. never mind that the f.b.i. that theit was coordinated or potential violence occurringt -- every america with internet access knew that violence was a possibility on january 6. the question the committee should be asking is this -- how the united states capitol police the d.c. metropolitan police and the f.b.i. all have no clueg to break loose? steve bannon, a private citizen knew. so why didn't the capitol police have enough riotelds? why did it take multiple hours to deploy the national guard? these are worthwhile questions, and congress has duty an

there are two things congress needs to do. number one, they need to act on new enforcement authority and give themselves the tools to enforce their oversight in realtime. they need to pass something that gives them fast track authority with the courts and number two, there is something called inherent contempt where they can throw steve bannon in jail now and force him to sit there until he provides the documents, emails and testimony. he might get criminal contempt and be prosecuted. i want a process that ensures we get the information because we need to know what went into january 6th if we have any chance of avoiding another one. >> indeed. he might manafort it out. you mentioned representative scott parry, why is bannon important? it covers any communications he might have had but michael flynn who we know was the disgraced former military man who now is a trump lack. sydney powell, kash patel who was subpoenaed, representative scott sperry, the proud boys, the oath keepers, the 3%ers. he was talking to principals. one mor

as many of you know, cigar just issued its 53rd quarterly report to congress. this quarterly report is unique too. it is the first one issued in our 12 year existence. when there are no u.s. troops or anybody in the usmc, actually, there is no u.s. embassy there in afghanistan. those who have you who have followed our work know that many of the reasons for the unexpected, quick collapse of the afghan government are problems we have reported on for years: corruption, ghost soldiers, the dependence of the afghan military on u.s. airpower, contractors, and other enablers, as well as, the overall incompetence of the afghan government. so, -- some in the press and on the hill have suggested that cigar maybe the only u.s. government agency whose stock has risen in the wake of withdrawals due to our penchant for telling inconvenient truths over the last 10 years. but i would suggest that you and the press corps must be credited for telling unwanted truth on what was going on in afghanistan through the evacuation in kabul. we all know that u.s. agencies have not been h

this comes from congress, the house andomon the senate. this seems to be in all of government approach. and geared toward the department of defense, i don't think it would be appropriate to just rely on that department of defense or the executive branch and congress needs to step up and speak out because it will be both right and left extremism clearly white supremacy is the biggest issue in the military and across the country when it comes to violence and domestic terrorist. but all of these can be applied in any number of ways to root out extremism. so just like last year with the ndaa issues we put in language to make sure the department of defense went to the issue of renaming the assets for confederate generals and officers. this is very similar to let them know congress is serious. >> also let me add on the whole government approach mentioning at least twice the national strategy the biden administration published to counter domestic extremism puts a huge premium more focused somewhere priority on the whole of governmentho approach n

the congress authorizes the spending and taxes. for better or worse, congress mandates the deficit. treasury should be able to undergo the actions necessary to finance that deficit. we do face a run-up in our debt levels that is unsustainable. all of human history suggests that that is not going to work out well if it continues. i propose that congress tackle these two essential issues together, hopefully finding middle ground. that would be pairing a permanent suspension of the debt limit so that we do not have these every few years along with long-term reforms to stop the unsuitable rise, as well as structural forms to grow their economy. if you have a faster growing economy, the world can sustain higher levels of government spending. host: house and senate democrats with plenty of criticism about the death -- debt limit. nancy pelosi proposed giving the treasury department the authority to limit the debt. speaker pelosi: there are all kinds of suggestions. one that was endorsed a while back by mitch mcconnell, but who knows -- it was -- the manifestation now puts a responsibility

i've been in congress nine years and worked for a member of congress for 16 years before that. do you know how many times i've ever come back to washington d.c. in the middle of august until this summer? zero. but she felt it so important to bring hr-4 to the floor without having a hearing for our part of the jurisdictional boundaries and hr-4 and house administration. this is their number one issue. their future, their dominance, and their power depends upon them changing the electoral system here in washington d.c. you're on the front lines of this fight. don't think that we can just sit back and prepare maybe for some contested elections. we can go out to certain parts of the country that are a little better than others and then we're not going to work hand in hand with the folks who are running these elections and we're going to be there and all of a sudden after election day you pick up and go home because we may have won, we may have lost. we need each and every one of you to be as dedicated on the front end as the democrats are to take republicans out of power. to make s

everything congress had ever done i think this is one of the 10 most weirdest things congress has ever done. think about this. yes who owns sallie mae west and mark banks and schools. so it's like the fox living in the henhouse. the institutions that needed to make money and wanted to make money only have access to all this treasury department money. no risk whatsoever. through this odd piece called sally may. so i'll stop there because it's just a long story and i'm curious what you want to know more about 's we're talking moral hazards and the consequences so just to catch us up the federal government wants to pay for it, doesn't want to be seen paying for it . it's a little bit of a shell game so they're putting the money up but they're not, it's not on their books and then sally may gets created to basically their profits or losses are raised and they have every power of the federal government has on federal government rates. a new kind of hazard comes in and these are the colleges themselves. they were supposed to have skin in the game. and let's talk about what's happening with t

you're saying you have door number one, congress do it, itself, but congress hasn't done that since the '30s, you have civil, which takes longer, and the moment a person agrees to comply they get out of prison and that would be a civil suit filed by your committee, or the doj. so i guess what i'm asking you, if we take all of those options together, is it above or below 50% odds that steve bannon winds up in jail? because a lot of people are watching and saying, okay, complex history lessons, is he going to pay or not? >> i think he'll back down before he goes to jail. i know he loves the attention. he relishes it. in some sense, that's why i'm a little disappointed he's getting so much attention out of this. but we're going to be going after anybody who doesn't comply. on door number two, it is not remotely a foregone conclusion that it takes longer under civil contempt than criminal contempt. i disagree with that conclusion. >> to get to your point, you're saying your framework is you think he will blink. you think you guys are putting on the pressure and this is a significant vote, p

they don't report to congress. we use them but my solution would be to beef up, reclaim congressional oversight power which we have allowed to lapse and we've outsourced that to the inspector general. do you understand that assessment? not necessarily agree or disagree but understand where i'm coming from in. mr. horowitz: i understand the concern you outline about what the congressional oversight responsibilities are and how they've been executed. i'll just say, this legislation changes nothing about the president's ability to remove and i.g. there is no for-cause provision here. there's none of that. and to your point, as sigi chair, one of the things and allison has continued this, i know, as chair. i talk about all the time not only with my folks at d.o.j. but other i.g.'s, we're not free-range actor, i agree with you. we're in a constitutional system. we follow the i.g. act and follow the law. what i think the legislation does though, particularly the vacancies act, it doesn't limit the president's ability to

and now congress has an opportunity to finish the job. and today, you is poised, in a bipartisan way, to get that done. 50 years ago, the failed war on drugs was first launched when the president at the time declared drug abuse public enemy number one. at the time there were less than 300,000 people incarcerated in america. today, 2.3 million, disproportionately black and latino, many of them nonviolent drug offenders. who instead of receiving incarceration should have received drug treatment. it was a failed policy then, we cannot repeat that policy today, as so many folks are dealing with the scourge of opioid addiction. that is why i'm so thankful that we are coming together to pass the equal act to end that disparity and to address the era of mass incarceration. i yield back. >> the gentleman from new york reserves. the gentleman from texas is recognized. >> thank you, mister speaker. i yield myself the time i may consume, and i appreciate my friend mr. jeffries mentioning cedric richmond, and also kelly armstrong, who have been such

and congress. very much appreciate this. >> thank you and thank you for crystal riling the sup about technologists and legislation. thank you. and senator blumenthal? >> thank you, senator and thank you for having this hearing. there are now pretty good indications that the federal government is going to have or given rule making. in would be very, have been welcome. last week i wrote to general common. along with others, and four ok colleagues urging the f.t.c. to start rule making concerning previouscy. co-litigation of 24 civil rights group. others have joined in the call. the reasonable is simple, that congress has fameed to affect. they act abjectly to responsibility, not that the issues are simple or easy but the f.t.c. is supposed to fill gaps that occur when congress fails to do. so some members have expressed reservation about it. i have am not sure i uniform the prekempes ejection. i think the resource issues could be sur mounted and if congress were willing to act, that might be everyone

that decision could be overruled by the congress. it v would take 60 votes under e present but nonetheless, congress would have to overrule that. have some appeal to both sides of the aisle because of the consequences to people of not lifting it. but why what is -- i mean, many democrats at the extent of jeopardizing it, this is the first time. >> the congresswoman pelosi is talking about it makes a lot of sense. on the one hand, you authorize treasury to take the steps it needs to take to finance and on the other hand, to get the political support that it would need on both parties by having the fixes. making the claim and invoking the amendment without endorsing or oppose any specific proposal, can you just talk about those issues in general and why they come up as a way to get around the debt limit? >> some of the creative people when we are faced with a crisis like this and people go back and look at acts passed by congress about making commemorative coins and they take the parts of the constitution to figure out some runaround w

and congress needs to step up. congress needs to stand up and speak out on this because it will be both the right and left extremism. collate white supremacy is the biggest issue in the military and across this country when it comes to violence and domestic terrorism. the fact is all of these can be applied at any number of ways to root out extremism. it's really important that what congressman brown is doing in regard to congress, just like last year we put in a language to make sure the department of defense went to the issue of renaming bases and other assets that had been named for confederate generals and confederate officers. this is very similar to that. this is to let them know congress is serious about this. >> let me also add and to pick up on that whole of government approach that senator jones has now mentioned at least twice, the national strategy that the biden administration recently published on counter extremism, puts a huge premium or focus on that whole of government approach. it's not just the d

congress steps back from the financial brink, but the crisis isn't over. just postponed. >> the motion is agreed to. chris: the two parties compromise on a plan to save the u.s. from default but senate republicans blast their leader over bailing out democrats on the debt limit, accusing mitch mcconnell of cabbing. >> i don't understand why we're folding at the end. chris: we'll discuss what the gop plan is now with the number two republican in the house, congressman steve scalise, and the democratic victory is overshadowed by disappointing jobs numbers. >> maybe it doesn't seem fast enough. we're making consistent, steady progress, though. chris: while in congress, democrats continue to fight over the president's domestic agenda. we'll ask senator chris kuhns on chances for party unity on the legislative to do list. the president's poll numbers hit a new low in the wake of crises at the border, in afghanistan, and a slowing economic recovery. we'll ask our sunday panel if joe biden will be a drag on democrats' chances starting with next month's virginia go

congress must act. thank you for the opportunity to testify. -- >> we work every day to help improve the transparency, security, accessibility, and accountability of elections in every state so every american has confidence in the outcome of every election, regardless of party, race, and if this chosen candidate lost or one. -- won or lost. regardless of color or political party, this is a great accomplishment worthy of celebrating while always looking to improve. instead, many seem to place propaganda in place of truth. some suggest they want to suppress the votes of their fellow americans. this is not new. it has been a long-term strategy. in 2004 in colorado, the dnc manual suggested launching a preemptive strike by encouraging minority leadership to denounce voter suppression, issue press release, when no signs of intimidation techniques have emerged yet. i wonder if these minority leaders being used in this way were told they were being used. in 2010, martha coakley was caught red-handed in her los

>> we will consult with congress. congress plays a big role in how this will ultimately look. we've been clear from the start that we wanted to cut taxes for over 50 million american families, that we wanted to bring down the cost of health care, and that we wanted to finally address the climate change and make sure that we're fighting for our future, and we're going to do that by making sure that the wealthy and big corporations pay their fair share. working families have been doing it for a very long time. >> all right, but you're evading obviously specifics here. i get it. you don't want to negotiate in public. but is there some non-starters here? are there some programs that have to be included no matter whether it's $1.5 trillion or $3.5 trillion? >> no. i won't get into red lines on tv. the president made clear his red line, he was not willing to raise taxes on anyone who made less than $400,000. so that's our red line. we're going to work with congress to make sure we meet the challenges. i just went down the list of programs that are very important that we want to meet

congress, however, took know action. it prompted the commission to pass an amendment to the sentencing guidelines in 2007 as a partial and modest remedy to the compelling problems associated with the ratio. in doing so, the commission unanimously and strongly urged congress to take on this recommendation and provide a comprehensive solution. in 2010, congress finally acted by passing the fair sentencing act which did not eliminate the disparity but significantly reduced the ratio from 100-1 to 18-1. but the fair sentencing act applied only to pending and future cases, leaving thousand of incarcerated people without a petition for relief. the first step act of 2018 made the fair sentencing act retroactive providing a pathway for relief for some but not all individuals affected by the sentencing disparity. it is now pastime to finish the job. the crack cocaine and powder cocaine disparity has greatly contributed to the rise of mass incarceration, devastated communities of color and severely undermine public don't instance

i think that working with congress would be a help. and as we talked about, a number of times, i think that the sec's authorities in this space are clear but what we could work with congress on is along with our sister agency or sibling agency that in the trading commission we both have market oversight. they have oversight over derivatives, we had over securities and they also have enforcement authority over commodities and i think that coordination and working not just with this committee but multiple committees of congress wecould address . i think also. >> in your view there is a limitation of around what the cftc, your former job a few years ago and the sbc what permits they have under law to regulate these regimes. is that what you're indicating. >> what indicating is i think that congress ended with a broad brush the definition of security and included 30 or 35 separate areas that are within the definite definition of security. to protect the public against fraud but they also wrote and other laws for the commodities interest ra

he and congress increased federal spending. because in order to get banks to make loans to student, not only did he say taxpayers would repay or the government would, but they had to guarantee a profit. you're guaranteeing losses and they're saying we'll pay you for every loan you hold. so it ended up becoming very expensive in the long run. when you're passing the federal budget each year it looks like a smaller kit in that year because the losses when students don't pay don't show up at once, they show up in the long run. it looks cheaper and it created a lot of problems. >> it was a heads i win and tails you lose system. >> goodness, so, first of all let me just say this. can i step back, let's talk about sally mae. what ended up happening in the '60s is the government said we'll ensure all of these loans. congress set the interest rate at which student loans would carry, right? so congress covered that while they were in school and after that the students would have to pay the interest themselves. inflation was rising at th

sometimes we have lost sight of that in congress. jonathan: one question on spending i wanted to bring up his looking at this, its current iteration of the bill you introduced, if it is just russia focused it would be about $80 million a year, but you mentioned this is more than just google translate, many of us have used google translate when it comes to trying to read articles coming out of china. what does $80 million get to you beyond google translate in terms of the benefits of the service? rep. castro: of course it is a translation that will be from folks that are familiar with the slogans, the particular sayings in china. a more accurate -- it is more accurate than a rough google translate. but the analysis is very valuable. we mentioned china and russia, but there is the potential to expand it beyond those nations. the analysis part is especially important. important not just for people in government, not just to benefit the state department or the department of defense and the administration, but also the media. i believe it

congress steps back from the financial brink, but the crisis isn't over. just postponed. >> the motion is agreed to. chris: the two parties compromise on a plan to save the u.s. from default but senate republicans blast their leader over bailing out democrats on the debt limit, accusing mitch mcconnell of cabbing. >> i don't understand why we're folding at the end. chris: we'll discuss what the gop plan is now with the number two republican in the house, congressman steve scalise, and

the congress could say to you even and transparency that congress is always put in play, but those of us had to file. [inaudible]. >> to find out that there's conflicts are obviously, i want transparency them always about going without but thenen what happens afterwards, we do find out they were held accountable and really just get process. and people don't trust us anymore. you how incredibly passionate i am about this. we should be allowing public officials to christ operated going to be y put in this position, that is it's about the public trust andde i just appreciate you coming before this committee and it hope you do go back to your community let them know were concerned that you are investigating these incidences and i yield back. rated. >> thank you, the gentlewoman from texas also the vice chair to the subcommittee on diversity and inclusion is now recognized for five minutes. >> thank you. the end is in sight and thank you forth your patience and perseverance with us today. i appreciate the greatci work you've done so far and talking about the protection the issue presented

ask in congress is desperately needed. the house answered the call from congressman lewis and others to protect our precious vote. the bold version of the advancement act earlier this year. today in the senate, will be introducing a version of that bill that should get the votes it needed restore the voting rights act. as the microphone ought up there? do they have their microphones off? okay. this legislation addresses the courts 2013 and 2021 decision they should be passed by the house and surely be signed into law, there is no reason for delay. this legislation addresses the supreme court shelby county decision by restoring the justice department preclearance w powers that prevent states from enacting discriminatory voting changes. the legislature it limits the harm caused by the supreme court's decision earlier this year a private right of action and clear factors with which voters can bring lawsuits against attempts to disenfranchise them. fundamentally this legislation seeks to ensure the justice department have the

we did bipartisan bills last congress, last congress. in the midst of covid, bipartisan bills. major bipartisan bills. we can work together in a responsible manner, but to ask for my vote the week before it comes up in the house is not in keeping with the reality of the situation. we have the tools, we have the votes to get this thing done through congress. it's just a question of who votes for it. secretary yellen: i would like to point out that in 2017, when the white house and both houses of congress were controlled by republicans and a reconciliation bill was in progress that led to the 2017 tax cuts, the debt ceiling was raised and it was done in a bipartisan basis. mr. mchenry: and in 2011 and 2013 i voted for a bill that president obama signed. so i'm willing to participate in a bipartisan way. it's a question of who votes for it and the circumstances of $7 trillion of new suspending this year. ms. waters: the gentleman from new york, mr. meeks, who is also the chair of the house committee on foreign affairs, is now recognized for five minutes. mr. meeks: thank you, mada

is laid out and comments congress had the opportunity to fulfill the promise of the aca with filling the medicaid coverage gap moving us forward as a path to health equities and racial justice. there are so many in our country and there is a moral and ethical imperative for us to adjust the medicaid coverage gap so i'm excited so let's get started. you have been vocal about to close the medicaid coverage gap that they could still expand if they wanted to because of the american rescue plan act so can you talk about why it is necessary to close the medicaid coverage gap once and for all quick. >> first about thank you very much let me respond to the question this way. i always view history and how we serve as a country. in the history is very clear with the vast majority so the states rights and they take the right voting rights and educational opportunities and it is the same for health and medical attention as well. so that will never expand. so in my lifetime. i think it is incumbent upon us and the opportunity that we have with the build back better agenda to just get rid of the c

can you talk sly it's necessary congress has a policy for the medicaid coverage cap once and for all? >> thank you for having me and let me respond this way. i always viewed history as a great as a country. the history of looking at these states to expand the vast majority of the south. this is where it's been, states like to roll and take the right to deny, voting rights, educational opportunities and did the same thing for medical attention as well. those states are never going to expand, at least not in my lifetimeme so i think it's incumbent upon us the opportunities we have with this build back better agenda to just get rid of that coverage gap and we can do that with this legislation and i think we should. when i first saw the discussion, i reached out to a senator from the state i want great expand medicaid and he said to me, why should we give south carolina one? i said to him from a qr united states senator, you happen to be elected by the people in your state, i am a united states congressman and i am not district congressman for the sixth congressional district, i am here f

as many of you know, i have a copy of this, our 53rd quarterly report to congress. this quarterly report is kind of unique. it's the first one issued in our 12 year existence when there are no u.s. troops or anybody in the u.s. embassy, there is no u.s. embassy, in afghanistan. those of you have followed s igard's work is the reason for the unexpected collapse of the afghan government is something we have reported on for years, corruption, gulf soldiers, the dependent of the afghan military on u.s. mail -- airpower and other enablers as well as the overall incompetency of the afghan government stuff in the press and on the hill, it's suggested thatsigar may be the only agency that who stock is risen in the wake of the with drawl due to our penchant for telling inconvenient truths. i would suggest that you and the press corps must also be credited with telling unwanted but ground truths on what was going on in afghanistan through the evacuation in kabul and to date and without the amplification of our reports by the press, sigar would not have been as successful as i

bannon for criminal contempt of congress. our goal is simple. we want mr. bannon to answer our questions. we want him to turn over whatever records he possesses that are relevant to the select committee's investigation. the issue in front of us today is our ability to do our job. it is about fulfilling our responsibilities according to health resolution 503 to provide the american people answers about what happened january 6 and help ensure nothing like that may ever happen again. we fulfill our responsibilities by discovering the facts behind the january 6 attack so that congress can consider legislation with a full understanding of the activities that lead to an attack on congress itself. i want to make it clear how isolated mr. bannon is in his refusal to cooperate with the select committee. we have reached out to dozens of witnesses. we are taking in thousands of pages of records, conducting interviews on a study basis. this is a serious, focused investigation. it is not flashy and gets results. it is essential we get mr. bannon's factual and complete t

. >> congress averts a debt disaster. only to set up a december showdown over government funding and biden's agenda. as the economy stalls. >> right now, things in washington are awfully noisy. when you take a step back and look at what's happening, we're actually making real progress. >> this morning, treasury secretary janet yellen, a "this week" exclusive. >>> blowing the whistle. >> i believe facebook's products harm children, stoke division, and weaken our democracy. >> facebook under fire as a former employee reveals the social platform's priorities. >> facebook and big tech are facing a big tobacco moment. >> facebook executive nick clegg responds live. >>> plus, an abc news exclusive. >> here's the difference. hillary conceded. i never conceded. never. >> new details on president trump's efforts to subvert the 2020 election as he orders loyalists to refuse subpoenas in the january 6th investigation. our powerhouse roundtable weighs in with exclusive new reporting from chief washington correspondent jonathan karl.

that's why fbi director ray spoke to congress about that. that's why secretary defense secretary austin ordered to stand down earlier this year and general millie has spoken accurately and appropriately in thehi military. it's important to get our hands around it. you haves senior commanders that have literally said before congress extremism doesn't exist in my formation and we know that's wrong statistically speaking it's inaccurate. so, they are committed to the extremism and they need to do better data collectionon and training so it's really incumbent upon them if they are going to be consistent with the commitment to address the commitment with where congress wants to go on this issue. we've got to work together, congress and the department to get after extremism. survey after survey shows that in the military the service members are experiencing more and more racism, anti-semitism in language conduct so the problem exists. we've got to get after it and they need the tools and to accept that. >> part of this problem we just have to be v

that decision could be overruled byby the congress. it would take 60 votes under the custom but nonetheless, congress would have to overrule that.ld that seems to have some appeal to both sides of the aisle because of the consequences to people of not listening. many democrats and republicans voted againstd but but never to the extent of jeopardizing your. >> you would favor the idea? >> i do think it has merit. >> on that proposal and other proposals you get around are you the debt limit. >> let me not comment on specificet proposals so i start try to steer clear of potential bills but i think their compromise that she's talking about makes sense. on the one hand, he authorized the treasury to take the steps needed to finance the government's deficit on the other hand we are getting political support for things needed, i think i i would need o be on support on both parties to be achieved on the replicants are by having fixes to the long-term policy of our nation. >> we have heard about ideas a trillion dollar coin invoking the 14th am